For the last few days this scripture continues to impress upon my mind. I've been pondering what it means to "wait upon the Lord". Perhaps the reason I've been thinking about this is related to the two funerals I've attended in the past week.
Waiting is woven into the fabric of our daily lives. It helps us develop the glorious virtue of patience. But it can be oh so painful... especially when that waiting means we will be separated for a time from someone we dearly love, either in death or in the necessary paths of living. It's a truth, "The only way to take the sorrow out of death [or parting] is to take love out of life." -Russell M. Nelson - Hearts sewn together with threads of the purest kind are bound to feel sorely torn at parting. This pain, however, is as needful as the prize. For we would never know the sweet if we did not taste the bitter. "Time goes by so slowly and time can do so much." - Unchained Melody
"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." - Psalms 30:5
Those who wait are those who hope even despite all odds, They stay because they truly believe in what will come.
Yes, "time can do so much" for it is that channel all things must flow through in order to grow and progress. Time is the essence of mortal life but it is only to be passed through for we are not bound to it. We are creatures of eternity.
Night must fall and trail our sky
Before the dawn of each new day.
The shadows of the eventide
Break and fade from morning ray.
A seed that's planted in the ground
Pushes through black of soil,
Through time, through love, and faith unbound,
Through sweat, and tears, and toil
Springing forth, grown to a tree,
Its branches touch the sun.
And time is now a memory
Within this story spun.
- Alicia Rawlins
Waiting upon the Lord means promising never to forget Him. It means keeping Him always and forever in our hearts, always anticipating the day we will again see him face to face and feel His loving embrace.
Those who wait are those who keep hope alive, even despite all odds. They stay the course, never drifting, because they truly believe in what will come.
"Test and trials are give to all of us. These mortal challenges allow us and our Heavenly Father to see whether we will exercise our agency to follow His Son. He already knows, and we have the opportunity to learn, that no matter how difficult our circumstances, 'all these things shall [be for our] experience, and... [our] good."
Does this mean we will always understand our challenges? Won't all of us, sometime, have reason to ask, 'O God, where art thou?' Yes! When a spouse dies, a companion will wonder. When financial hardship befalls a family, a father will ask. When children wander from the path, a mother and father will cry out in sorrow." - Robert D. Hales
When I think of being carried as "on the wings of eagles", I think of the strong steady shoulders of my Father in Heaven.
This song "Shoulders" by, "For King and Country" is absolutely beautiful and gives me strength. Its message is true and because I know this, I can humbly accept the Lord's will and timing in my life whatever it may be.
"Shoulders" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40wYfjv6yt8
"When confusion's my companion
And despair holds me for ransom
I will feel no fear
I know that You are near
When I'm caught deep in the valley
With chaos for my company
I'll find my comfort here
‘Cause I know that You are near
My help comes from You
You're right here, pulling me through
You carry my weakness, my sickness, my brokenness all on Your shoulders
Your shoulders
You mend what once was shattered
And You turn my tears to laughter
Your forgiveness is my fortress
Oh Your mercy is relentless
My help is from You
Don't have to see it to believe it
My help is from you
Don't have to see it, ‘cause I know, ‘cause I know it's true"
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." - Philippians 4:13
This song "Shoulders" by, "For King and Country" is absolutely beautiful and gives me strength. Its message is true and because I know this, I can humbly accept the Lord's will and timing in my life whatever it may be.
"Shoulders" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40wYfjv6yt8
"When confusion's my companion
And despair holds me for ransom
I will feel no fear
I know that You are near
When I'm caught deep in the valley
With chaos for my company
I'll find my comfort here
‘Cause I know that You are near
My help comes from You
You're right here, pulling me through
You carry my weakness, my sickness, my brokenness all on Your shoulders
Your shoulders
You mend what once was shattered
And You turn my tears to laughter
Your forgiveness is my fortress
Oh Your mercy is relentless
My help is from You
Don't have to see it to believe it
My help is from you
Don't have to see it, ‘cause I know, ‘cause I know it's true"
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." - Philippians 4:13
-Alicia
